Avalanche Forecast

Poor - Timing, track, or intensity of incoming weather system is uncertain

Cloudy overnight with moderate Southeast winds and a chance of flurries. Snow developing during the day Thursday as a Low pressure system moves onto the coast. Expect strong Southerly winds, 5-15 cm of snow by Friday morning and freezing levels remaining close to valley bottoms. Strong Southwest winds and 5-10 cm of snow during the day on Friday. Freezing levels are forecast to start to rise overnight as warm moist air continues to move in from the Southwest. Freezing levels may get as high as 1500 metres by Saturday afternoon combined with 20-30 cm of new snow and very strong Southwest winds.

Explosives triggered windslabs up to size 2.0 in the Northwest of the region.

A dusting of new snow overlies a variety of surfaces which include wind slabs in alpine terrain, hard rain crusts at lower elevations and weak surface hoar crystals. Last week's heavy rain affected southern parts of the region up to alpine elevations, while the far north remained drier and sports a weaker snowpack in general. Areas which previously received rain have probably now formed a hard frozen crust. Upper elevation terrain and far northern areas are likely to have wind slabs and large fragile cornices. Deeper in the snowpack, weaknesses such as the mid-November crust-facet layer still exist. Avalanches at this interface have become unlikely, although the consequences of a release remain high. This layer may be more sensitive to triggering in steep, unsupported high alpine terrain, or in the far north of the region.